Updates February 2016

I am pleased to announce that effective 1 March 2016, the Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages is now the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture under the direction of founder Michael A. Torregrossa. I believe that the new name better reflects our purpose as an organization as it has evolved since 2004.

Changes to the sites will begin today and should be completed this spring. Some links may no longer work in the interim. I apologize for any issues as we reconfigure our presence on the web.

Michael A. Torregrossa

Founder and Blog-Editor, The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

Carolyne Larrington on Game of Thrones

Now available: 

Winter is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones
Carolyne Larrington
Paperback | In Stock | £12.99

Imprint: I.B.Tauris
Publisher: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd

Paperback
ISBN: 9781784532567
Publication Date: 30 Nov 2015
Number of Pages: 288
Height: 198
Width: 129
Illustrations: 40 bw integrated

Game of Thrones is a phenomenon. As Carolyne Larrington reveals in this essential companion to George R R Martin's fantasy novels and the HBO mega-hit series based on them the show is the epitome of water-cooler TV. It is the subject of intense debate in national newspapers; by PhD students asking why Westeros has yet to see an industrial revolution, or whether astronomy explains the continent's climatic problems and unpredictable solstices ('winter is coming'); and by bloggers and cultural commentators contesting the series' startling portrayals of power, sex and gender. Yet no book has divulged how George R R Martin constructed his remarkable universe out of the Middle Ages. Discussing novels and TV series alike, Larrington explores among other topics: sigils, giants, dragons and direwolves in medieval texts; ravens, old gods and the Weirwood in Norse myth; and a gothic, exotic orient in the eastern continent, Essos. From the White Walkers to the Red Woman, from Casterley Rock to the Shivering Sea, this is an indispensable guide to the twenty-first century's most important fantasy creation.

Kalamazoo 2016 Round Table

Here are the details of our sponsored round table session for this year's Medieval Congress:

51st International Congress on Medieval Studies
Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI)
Thursday, 12 May, 7:30 PM
Session 164 (Bernhard 158)

More Middle Ages on Screen? Reconsidering The Reel Middle Ages (A Roundtable)
Sponsor: Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa, Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages

Presider: Susan L. Aronstein, Univ. of Wyoming

Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (2005): Medieval History as Caricature
June-Ann Greeley, Sacred Heart Univ.

Postmodern Medieval: BBC’s Robin Hood Series (2006–09)
Mikee Delony, Abilene Christian Univ.

What’s Love Got to Do with It?: Kevin Reynold’s Tristan & Isolde (2006)
Kate McGrath, Central Connecticut State Univ.

The Legend Continues: Exploring the Development of Arthur in Guy Ritchie’s The Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur (2016)
Kayla Sanderson, Abilene Christian Univ.

The full program can be accessed at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/events/sessions.